A recent paper in the Journal of Possibility Studies argues that creativity is an essential skill for effective leadership and that creative leaders can motivate their teams more effectively and can handle novel challenges by being more flexible in going outside the typical routines. Key to this is the important role played by a leaders’ creative identity and the recognitions that leaders can deliberately enact their creative identities in their roles, based on two ways to understand their creativity: as a way of thinking or as a personality type.
Just as importantly, however, leaders need to be adaptive in their approach – both to leadership and to the cultures they encourage in the workplace.
To discuss this further I am delighted to be joined by Dr Oana Velcu-Laitinen
About our guest…
Dr Oana Velcu-Laitinen is a researcher and consultant who works in the areas of creativity, change, innovation and well-being.
Her focus is challenging the habitual thinking of leaders, researchers and other knowledge workers to bring positive change and breakthroughs to their workplaces and domains of knowledge.
Oana has a published a number of papers and books, including “How to develop your creative identity at work”, published in October 2022.
You can find out more about Oana and her work here:
· https://www.linkedin.com/in/oana-velcu-laitinen-phd-6081084/
· https://www.velcu.fi/
The article from the Journal of Possibility Studies discussed in the interview is available here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27538699231226173
Series 2, Episode 40: Understanding the benefits of creative and adaptive leaders, with Dr Oana Velcu-Laitinen